Karen S. Kim Gincarlo Espinoza is still...
Karen S. Kim
Gincarlo Espinoza is still about $200 shy of being able to afford
the puppy he’s wanted for the past three years.
He’d be $50 closer to his goal if he hadn’t given away his puppy
savings a year ago to the Sept. 11 Fund sponsored by the United Way.
A year later and still puppy-less, Gincarlo said he sometimes regrets
his act of charity. Why?
“Because I was trying to save up for the puppy and I gave my money
away,” Gincarlo said Monday. “I don’t really remember what made me do
that.”
Gincarlo, 10, had joined his classmates at Glendale Adventist
Elementary last year in raising $1,180 for the families of those
killed during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. His act of charity
profiled in the News-Press prompted one local couple to anonymously
donate a 30-pound jar of pennies and other coins, four $1 bills and a
wristwatch to Gincarlo’s puppy fund.
The fifth-grader has been adding to the jar ever since. To date,
he has saved about $300, his mother Tina said.
“He’s worked very hard to save up the money,” she said. “He
doesn’t spend it on anything else.”
In addition to a monthly allowance of $10, Gincarlo raises funds
through entrepreneurships. He even made $40 offering carwashes
outside his house to passing drivers.
“You have to work for it,” Gincarlo said. “And you have to open up
a business or something like that.”
Gincarlo said his goal is to save about $500 for a puppy by
Christmas. If there’s any money left over, he’d like to buy a Sony
PlayStation 2, he said.
But his days of charitable living aren’t over, according to his
mother. When he sees someone in need, he still reaches out a helping
hand.
“He doesn’t spend the money he’s saved, only when I have money
problems and have to have money, he lets me borrow some,” she said.
“He’s still pretty giving.”